Fox is aiming for a $30 million opening and hopes to launch young adult franchise with its sci-fi adaptation starring Dylan O'Brien
Youth will be served at the box office this weekend, when the sci-fi thriller “The Maze Runner” is expected to beat out two wide openers that target older moviegoers: Liam Neeson‘s “A Walk Among the Tombstones” and the comedy “This Is Where I Leave You.”
Dylan O'Brien, a regular on MTV's”Teen Wolf,” is the star of “Maze Runner.” His fans from that popular show will give the film a boost, and so will the fact that he's a guy, unlike the protagonists in most YA movies. In the film, O'Brien's character awakens to find himself trapped with a group of other young men in a lethal labyrinth and must plot his escape.
“We're hoping it makes those date night decisions easier,” said Fox distribution chief Chris Aronson. “When someone suggests going to the movies, nobody's going to argue.”
If “Maze Runner” can connect with young males as well as young women — and tracking suggests it will —
Fox will have another hit on its hands, particularly since the production budget is a relatively modest $34 million. The studio had a great summer and is just ahead of Disney in terms of market share for the year, according to Box Office Mojo.
http://www.thewrap.com/maze-runner-s...at-box-office/
Slay!! This is gonna be a bigger profit than Divergent. I read the first 2 books, and I'm a huge fan now. I think it's a better book than Divergent. I hope for the best.
Very excited. Expecting good things, but not as much as THG (and definitely not CF, my fave movie of all time.) Looks pretty great. 
